Federal Employees to Receive 2018 Pay Raise

President Donald Trump has announced his intention to give federal civilian employees and uniformed service members a 1.9 percent pay raise, effective on January 1st, next year. President Trump made the announcement in a letter sent to Members of Congress, writing:

“I have determined that for 2018, across-the-board pay increases will be 1.4 percent and locality pay increases will average 0.5 percent, resulting in an overall average increase of 1.9 percent for civilian federal employees. I will specify locality pay percentages for each locality pay area by executive order before the first pay period in January 2018. These decisions will not materially affect our ability to attract and retain a well-qualified federal workforce.”

Service members will see a slightly higher average pay increase of 2.1 percent, when factoring in both locality pay changes and general pay increases.

The 1.9 percent increase was included in the president’s proposed annual budget and has been expected by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM). The pay increase is slightly less than the 2.1 percent raise requested by President Barack Obama before he left office. Congressional Democrats had overwhelmingly supported legislation calling for a 3.2 percent increase. The final figure was simultaneously praised and criticized by groups handling labor issues.

The American Federation of Government Employees said “it’s good to see a modest boost in pay,” saying “it will certainly help employees put food on their table, pay their bills, reduce their debts, and cover everyday costs,” but said, “it isn’t enough,” noting that federal employees “make 6.5 percent less today than they did in 2010.”

Other groups noted that the pay raise is only one component of the picture, with pending federal retirement reform plans threatening to mitigate some of the benefit of the pay increase, as noted in a statement released by the National Treasury Employees Union, which said the organization “believes this figure is too low especially in light of the fact that federal law calls for a 1.9 percent across-the-board raise and private sector wages are growing at an even faster rate. Add to that, current proposals attacking the federal retirement system would result in a pay cut for federal workers.”